Page 163 - Applied Buddhism
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various programs for the benefit of the entire Buddhist community.   and politics are dominated by non-Buddhists, some of whom could
 Together with the monastics, the lay Buddhists provided the vitality   even be hostile to Buddhism. When this happens, the views of the
 and strength for growth of Buddhism in Malaysia.    Buddhist community will not be heard. Thus, lay Buddhists need to
        address this issue critically.
 However, in Myanmar and Thailand, which has 200,000 and
 360,000 monks, respectively, most Buddhist temples are not centers   Monastics are specialists in Buddhist study and practice. Thus,
 of learning or Dharma propagation. This is because of the limited   they are not expected to be well versed in secular disciplines such
 role played by the Buddhist laity in both countries.   as dealing with Government officials, putting up a crematorium, or
        running welfare homes. Such mundane tasks should be handled by
 From the perspective of development of human resources, it   lay Buddhists who are professionally trained on such matters.
 would be much more effective to draw human talent from a larger
 pool than a smaller one.  We can learn from Singapore which is   Therefore it is obvious that having strong lay Buddhist leaders
 a tiny island, but it  draws human  resources from China,  India,   would help engage the Buddhist community on religious matters
 Indonesia,  Malaysia,  and  Hong Kong, and  develops  them  into   affecting  the  Buddhist community, and revitalise  missionary
 outstanding leaders in various fields.  Buddhism should learn from   activities.
 the Singapore experience.
            iv. Reaching out to the masses
 iii.Engaging Buddhism
            Lay Buddhist leaders would be more effective in reaching out
 Our society  today  is pluralistic  in  nature.   Every  sphere   to  the  masses because  they  have  more  contacts and  interactions
 of human activity  is handled by specialists  and professionals.       with the community on a day to day basis. Members of the Sañgha
 Human knowledge has also been separated into many disciplines,   can support the lay Buddhist leaders in their interaction with the
 with specialists in each field of study. Sañgha members can also   community. In Malaysia, lay Buddhist organisations have been
 specialise in a specific area of interest, such as Dharma education   very successful in reaching out to the public. Once new Buddhists
 or Dharma propagation. In other disciplines, the lay Buddhists can   have been brought into contact  with the Dharma, they are then
 then take over. If lay Buddhists do not take up roles in society, their   introduced to the monastics who provide them advice and support
 views will not be heard, and they will eventually be ignored. Then   to study and practice Buddhism. In this way, there is a functional
 Buddhism will be marginalised, and be disengaged from society.  inter-dependence between the laity and the Sañgha.


 The situation would become worst if the vacuum is filled by   Contribution of Lay Buddhists
 forces hostile to Buddhism. In some countries  where Buddhists
 are the majority, certain disciplines such as education, mass media,   i,   Harmonising schools of Buddhism




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